Manchester and the World — 2011
Report of a Listening Post held on 14th June

Five people attended which included three organisers.

Hypothesis

Regimes are in transition, power is shifting and the experience is of being in the midst of a violent, shocking process, as though the 'parents'*, as in the State and The Leaders, have proven to be untrustworthy, so 'children' feel unsafe, fearful, lost, sad, upset, disgusted**.

Will there be new growth?*** Who will care for 'vulnerable children'? Will we be able to get back 'home'? How can we continue a relationship with these failing 'parents'? Can there be a civil society without the State?

Main themes identified from the dialogue

Change — violent destructiveness but also optimism, progressive mobilisation and sense of new life

Engagement and withdrawal — a will to engage but with what and how?  And an ambivalence about engagement because of the perceived cost and risk

Breakdown in social and psychological contract — which leads to a lack of meaning and loss of idealism

What has happened to ideology and morality? — It’s present in some parts of the world but not others

Social and individual choice — personal and social dilemmas about this

Much emotion about all this — shock, fear, tragedy, new birth, sad, upset, disgusting, exciting.

Themes and the hypothesis were derived from the following dialogue

How to fit into the organisation and retain creativity. Wife’s friend in Ibiza, dropped out, a bit of a dope head — whereas I am locked in as a wage slave. Trained to do job so need to do it, trying to fit in with organisation’s priorities.

Manipulated by the organisation. I want to work to professional standards. The organisation takes for granted my commitment and work.

Taken for granted in many spheres, psychological contract breaches e.g. through attack on pension. I will re-evaluate my relationship with work if pension changes. Will withdraw additional work commitment.  Link with teachers planning to strike.

Striking teachers have parents’ support in vox pop interviews. Concerned about their pensions. But aren’t they also concerned about other people’s poverty?

Self interest and disdain for self interest.

Teacher’s life work is dedicated to children so deserve good pensions.

For teachers pension represents recognition of that dedication — something reasonable in retirement.

Feeling sad, upset about. . . At work, manager is now off sick, unclear when he will return. Consultant was off sick, husband of one of secretaries died. Place is falling apart, changes in funding, arguments. Sense of betrayal. Like a container disappearing. Public sector represents a belief in a shared social commitment.

Is there anything worth putting my heart into? Feel sick to hear what you’re saying (about workplace falling apart).

Work for Manchester City Council, 600 staff have left, there are 4 empty desks in my office. They seemed to be doing important work, now gone. Was it important? Or not? Gave them purpose, a reason to go to work. All are voluntary redundancies.

What is important then? What has to be done?

I took voluntary redundancy, disgusting process, people thrown out. Though I know they can make people feel valued. Secrecy and no leaving rituals. Why did these jobs exist?

David Cameron’s experience of work is in PR.

Sad to hear about threats to Red House, was a core part of my experience and training. Sad also to hear about fate of therapeutic services (personality disorder and IAPT — Improving Access to Psychological Therapies.

I felt powerless at work.

Counsellor/therapist friend has been directed to offer young people 4 sessions, when they need long term help.

A little is not necessarily better than nothing. Wanting to have the experience of offering at least something.

The whole system is too complicated — 60 million people in UK. Overwhelmed. How does one keep connected and retain power to do things?

At WWTED (?) talks Gordon Brown came over as a competent, amusing man and on TV he looks like an idiot. Someone has told him to smile. He had values. But it was on his watch that the banking system collapsed. The financial system was allowed to believe in alchemy. Haven’t learnt to address the problems yet. We are servants of global capital.

Big Society — he (Cameron?) would argue need to find one’s own way of contributing. We affluent middle class have resources. How naive can he be? Harpurhey estates can’t develop a big society.

Aren’t these our own contradictions? We want to preserve the therapy services, but personal interest when it’s an operation for my own daughter. Then I seek a private consultant. I shop around for the cheapest electricity. I want to have my cake and eat it. I prefer stability, order, socialism, but I want choices.

I don’t want choices about electricity, only to find that I have to review my choice again.

I had heart surgery last year. The surgeon was particularly expert. If I hadn’t known that, I may have sought private healthcare. I may have had 10-15 years less life expectancy, but now I have the same life expectancy I had before the surgery. This excellent surgeon exists, but competition is necessary for that.

Debate about choice. . .

When I worked for 6 months at the Children’s Hospital some time ago, in the Intensive Care Unit, every child had the same level of service, were welcome on the ward.

Being a citizen. . .different cultures.

Visiting Denmark last summer, my son became seriously ill. The healthcare service was free. My son is American and wanted to make a donation to the health service. There was no mechanism to make a donation. An example of a Swedish woman working in Copenhagen. Who chose to pay taxes in Denmark because these were higher than in Sweden.

We talked about  experiencing more tolerance and cooperation. Surprise (pleased) at people’s reaction to the government proposals for the NHS. Feeling quite ‘heartened’.  The few number of people attending the LP event was noted. The difficulties in getting people together (sense of there being a black hole). Mention of someone who coordinates volunteers talking of people being more responsive and friendly recently. The ATL, teaching union, are going on strike — people are being mobilised yet there is sense of inertia at the same time. There is less motivation for people to get together locally (experience of a residents association). People are being re-organised at work and are being placed in a 'talent pool' (which is a disguised way of being made redundant). Talk of contradictions — developments and new initiatives yet other things are dying. Should we feel frightened and shocked? Perhaps there is new birth as well? Wanting to support people who are going through 'tragedy'.

Disengaged from latter days of New Labour and doubts about their competence. One person had become a 'sleeping member' of the Labour party. Is the question about competence to manage? Has discourse become disengaged from reality? Feelings of wanting to re-engage. Talk of a wish to have different ways of engaging with  politics — turned off by career politicians who are young and have little experience of life.

Mention of how exciting it was when there was no government (prior to the formation of the coalition). Slightly giddy response. The experience of prisoners in India going on hunger strike. People aware of this because of the internet. There are websites in India that allow you to name people and departments that take bribes. How this is ‘powerful’. Also events in the middle east — terrible things and exciting things going on at the same time. Mention of medics being arrested for treating protestors. Talk of concern that there is a lack of ideology (in the UK). The Arab Spring is motivated by beliefs. In the UK it comes down to 'bureaucracy', there are no beliefs about right and wrong. One person said that since retiring they had looked for something to believe in but had felt stumped. Ed Miliband had stood for something but as soon as he was called ‘Red Ed’ he had backtracked. There was hope when he was elected (leader of the Labour Party) but now hope is running out a bit. Things are expected to happen quickly.

Talk of not being allowed to think. Consultation is seen as a weakness. At work it is difficult to question things. How do you have a creative discourse? ‘An inability to embrace change’ is used as an accusation. People were heartened when the Labour party came to power — they said that they didn’t know — but it changed to the 'soundbite'. A comedian adapted the Lady Killers, but on the Today programme they chose someone to argue with him. This is the dominant discourse, conflict. There is the expectation to sound as if you know what you are doing all the time. One person was pleased when managers don’t sack people automatically for poor attendance and that they can hold on to their own minds. Shock when friend mentioned that the maximum amount of time off work with stress was 6 days (she works 7am to 9pm every day). Where is the recognition of people’s value?

Conveners: Clare Allen and Myna Trustram